Nebula's War

Azure Night loved his job. As Head of Night Security, it was Azure’s duty to patrol the castle and keep an eye out for intruders while everypony else slept. True, the position wasn't as sociable as daytime duties, but he did enjoy the company of three bat pony soldiers, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox, and of course, Princess Luna. Azure had admired Luna ever since he was a colt, which was hardly surprising since Azure grew up among The Nights, a herd of warrior unicorns who worshipped Princess Luna as their one true queen. When Princess Luna was banished to the moon, The Nights patiently awaited her return, but during her thousand-year exile, all of The Nights, except for Azure passed away.

Azure mourned the loss of his herd, but he cheered when Princess Luna returned to Equestria, and he was greatly honored when Luna offered him a job in The Royal Guard. Azure was not especially skilled in the arcane arts, but he more than made up for it with unparalleled swordsmanship. Every night, Azure would patrol the castle grounds, but most nights he was free to visit The Royal Garden, where Princess Luna could often be found. Every time she saw the telltale purple hair and sky blue fur of Azure Night, Princess Luna couldn't help but smile.

“Good evening, Azure Night." Luna said as Azure approached. "What news dost thou bring?"

"No disturbances thus far, Princess." Azure replied, bowing low to the ground. "My men are patrolling the rest of the castle, I just came to offer you my company." Luna giggled, and held her hoof to the glowing white pendant that hung around her neck.

"Thank thee for thy offer, but we are not lonely." She replied. "The night offers all of the company we require." She turned and smiled at Azure. "As does this Night." Azure blushed, but retained his composure.

"Thank you, Princess." He said. "But please let me know if there is anything you need. I'll be patrolling the castle foyer if you need me." He bowed again and left the garden to Princess Luna, whose gentle humming carried around the castle. Even with his military background, Azure couldn't help but smile when he heard Luna sing. Things like this made the lonely, tedious hours of patrol worthwhile.

Azure’s patrol continued as usual for several minutes, until a high-pitched scream rent the air. Without a moment's hesitation, Azure unsheathed his twin short swords, charged down the hall and burst through the door of Princess Celestia's bedroom. Celestia's bed was unoccupied, but the wall was peppered with burn marks, the telltale marks of a spell fired at close range. To make matters more confusing, the pillows had literally been turned into Swiss cheese and the bedside table was tap dancing around the room. A missing monarch, signs of a struggle, it all pointed to one thing: Princess Celestia had been kidnapped.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Azure burst through the doors and ran down the hallway, ignoring the three stallions that he had knocked over in his haste.

“Azure, what’s going on?” cried the first stallion. “We heard somepony scream, and-!”

“Eclipse, Night Shade, inspect Celestia’s room for evidence!” Azure shouted as he galloped down the hall. “Nox, come with me!” The trio exchanged confused looks.

“Evidence? What’s he talking about?” Eclipse asked. “Did something happen to-!”

“Just go to her room and look for anything suspicious!” Nox cried as he ran after Azure. As Nox arrived in The Royal Garden, he found Azure holding a silver necklace set with a glowing white pendant.

“Azure, what’s wrong?” Nox asked.

“I gave this moonstone necklace to Princess Luna for Hearth’s Warming Eve last year.” Azure whispered, more to himself than Nox. “She wouldn’t go anywhere without it.” With the utmost care, Azure wrapped the necklace in a swatch of blue fabric and tucked it into his breastplate.

“Search the garden.” Azure ordered. “Find any evidence of who kidnapped Princess Luna and where she was taken.” Nox had many questions, but knew better than to ask; instead, he helped Azure inspect every leaf, pebble and flower in The Royal Garden. The first sign of suspicious activity occurred when Nox examined a bush of roses, when the flowers fired a collective burst of water in Nox’s face.

“Ack-hey! What was that?” Nox spluttered, and shook himself dry.

“What happened?” Azure inquired.

“The rose bush just squirted me with water!” said Nox. “Why would the kidnappers go out of their way to do something so chaotic?” Azure peered at the rosebush for several seconds, then said,

“Keep looking.” Ten minutes later, Azure found several brown hairs lying on the garden path. He tried to pick them up, but as his magical aura surrounded the hairs a sharp pain shot through his horn.

“Ouch!” Azure cried.

“Are you okay?” Nox asked as Azure rubbed his horn.

“Yeah… just a headache.” Azure said. “Hey, I found some hairs that may have belonged to the kidnapper, do you have a piece of fabric that I can borrow?” Nox passed a handkerchief to Azure, who placed the hairs inside and tucked them into his breastplate. They searched for another thirty minutes, but could not find any hoof prints or discarded notes, not even a flower petal out of place. Nox was ready to leave, but Azure was busy investigating the gate for stray hairs.

“Azure, we’ve searched the whole garden.” Said Nox. “I’m sorry, but if there’s any evidence of where Princess Luna was taken we won’t find it here. We’ll have to make do with the evidence that we-!”

“No!” Azure cried. “There’s no such thing as a perfect crime! They always leave a trail; I just need to find it!” Nox stared at Azure with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

“Azure, I know how much Princess Luna means to you,” Nox sighed, and put his hoof on Azure’s shoulder “But searching this garden for hours on end won’t bring her back. We need to-!”

“You have NO IDEA what she means to me!” Azure shouted, and swatted Nox’s hoof away. Nox stared at Azure for several seconds before turning around and returning to the castle.

“I’m going to go and check in with the others, see what they’ve found.” Nox announced. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The last thing Nox saw as he left the garden was Azure, who was still examining every facet of the gate in hopes of finding a stray hair or hoof print. Several minutes later, Nox returned to the garden with Eclipse and Night Shade.

“Nox told us that you’re not feeling well.” Night Shade murmured.

“What’s it to you?” Azure spat, and Night Shade cringed. “I mean, no, I’m not feeling well.” Azure said, regaining his composure. “But I’ll be okay once we find Princess Luna. Did you find anything?”

“Well, yes.” Eclipse said, and produced several coarse brown hairs. “We found these hairs on the bedspread. Nox says that you found a set of identical hairs here in the garden?” Azure nodded, and produced the handkerchief from within his armor; Eclipse added the hairs to the collection, which Azure stuffed back into his armor before turning around and walking out the gate.

“Azure, where are you going?” asked Nox. “I thought you wanted to find evidence of Princess Luna’s capture!”

“I do, and I am.” Azure replied. “You three stay here and keep an eye out for any suspicious characters. I’m going to pay a visit to The Castle of Friendship.”

Azure hailed a carriage, and ten minutes later he was standing before The Castle of Friendship, a crystalline fortress that was home to Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Azure didn’t bother knocking on the door; he just stepped inside and began looking around. Whoever kidnapped Princess Luna and Celestia, Azure thought, they’re probably going after ALL of the Princesses of Equestria. I’m sure Twilight has already been kidnapped, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find more evidence in her castle. Everything was enshrouded in darkness, but Azure’s horn shone a light that sufficiently illuminated his surroundings. He didn’t know the layout of the castle, so he checked every room he came across.

One room contained thousands of books in shelves that reached the ceiling, and yet another contained a large bejeweled mirror that sat by itself in the dusty darkness, but no matter where Azure looked there was no sign of suspicious activity. Finally, Azure found Princess Twilight’s bedroom, where his worst suspicions were confirmed: the bed was vacated, and a number of scuff marks on the crystalline walls suggested that Twilight had fought back against her attackers, if briefly before her abduction. Furthermore, as he inspected his surroundings, Azure found a third set of coarse brown hairs, which he tucked into the handkerchief, as well as a tap-dancing nightstand and a pair of wrestling pillows.

“It’s all starting to make sense.” Azure whispered as a deep, primal growl sounded behind him. With the speed and reflexes born of a great warrior, Azure spun around and pointed his short swords at the unseen threat. All he could see were the beast's crimson eyes and pearly white fangs, but it was all Azure needed. In a flash of silver, the beast roared in pain as blood dripped from a gash in his cheek. “Okay monster, what did you do with the princesses?” Azure demanded. The beast's eyes crinkled in confusion, and it took a step forward; in the dim light of his horn, Azure saw that the beast was a massive black wolf, ten feet tall at the shoulder with four inch fangs.

"What are you talking about?" The beast growled. "YOU'RE the one who kidnapped Twilight, and I want to know where you took her!" The glistening white fangs parted, and closed an instant later on empty air. Azure had just barely dodged the wolf's deadly bite, and sank the blade of his sword into the wolf’s foreleg; the wolf howled in pain, but in a matter of seconds the bleeding stopped and the wound shrank away into nothingness.

“Well, crap.” Azure growled. “Of course it wouldn’t be that-!” But at that instant, the wolf threw Azure across the room, where he landed with a 'crash' upon Twilight's dancing nightstand. Azure was dazed, but he stood up and charged at the wolf, his swords glinting in the light of his horn. The wolf met him halfway, knocking the swords out of Azure's grasp and lifting him into the air as if he were a doll.

"TELL ME WHERE TWILIGHT IS!!" The wolf roared, wrapping his muscular paw around Azure's windpipe. Instead of answering, Azure brought his hoof down hard on the wolf’s paw, forcing him to release Azure.

“Haven’t seen her in months.” Azure replied as he picked up his swords. “I figured you had broken into the castle in hopes of eating her.”

“How DARE you!” The wolf roared. "I would NEVER harm Twilight! I've sworn to protect her with my life!"

"Is that so?" Azure scoffed as he picked up his swords. "And why should I believe you?"

"This is why." The wolf replied, and produced a large, flat square. Azure readied his blades, certain that it was a trick, but as he glanced down he realized that it was a large picture frame that contained four pictures. The first showed Twilight in the park, throwing a massive branch that the wolf bounded after like an eager puppy. The wolf took up most of the second photograph, his mass of black fur only interrupted by the comparatively small form of Princess Twilight, who slept soundly on his back. The third and forth photographs featured Twilight and a stallion with black fur and red eyes, sharing a milkshake and watching the sun set over the horizon. Azure used a spell to scan the photograph, but upon finding no evidence of tampering he was forced to admit that the wolf must have been telling the truth.

"So… you really are friends with Twilight?" Azure asked, looking up into the wolf's sorrowful red eyes.

"Yes, we've been friends for the past few years." The wolf confirmed. "She lets me live here with her. I'm Jacob, by the way."

"Azure Night." Azure replied, and set the picture frame down on the bed. "I’m surprised that you’ve eluded my notice." He continued. "It’s no easy feat for a giant wolf to live under the radar in a town of magical horses."

"Well, most ponies don't know that I'm a werewolf." Jacob explained. "I don't usually assume this form unless it's a real emergency." Azure nodded, and then did a double take.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'this form'? Are you a changeling?"

"Oh no, nothing like that!" Jacob laughed, and assumed an equine form, that of a stallion with black fur, red eyes and black and white striped hair. "Changelings can become whoever they like. I'm a demon, I can only change between wolf and pony forms." Before Jacob knew what was going on, he was on his back with the blade of Azure's sword pressed against his neck.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jacob gasped. "I thought we were friends!"

"That was before I knew you were a soul-sucking abomination!" Azure growled. "How do I know you aren't a spy, trying to infiltrate the monarchy and give your precious demon king a new kingdom?" Jacob tried to break free, but every movement caused the blade to press deeper into his neck, and he could feel the first trickle of blood flowing from his neck.

"I swear, I'm not like that!" Jacob pleaded. "Yes, I grew up in Tartarus, but my brother was killed during a war among our people, and so I came here in hopes of a more peaceful life. I met Princess Twilight, we became friends, and she invited me to live in the castle with her, I swear! I'm friends with Princess Luna, too! Ask her, and she'll confirm that I'm not evil!"

All of a sudden, Azure's mind went blank; he forgot about Jacob, his heritage and his possible treachery, all he could see was Princess Luna. Azure recalled his first meeting with Princess Luna, in The Royal Gardens when she had just returned from her thousand-year exile. Luna had been wearing a hooded cloak, and Azure struck up a casual conversation with her, completely unaware of whom he was talking to. They had conversed for an hour before Princess Luna spread her wings and revealed her true self. Azure was never more embarrassed or honored in his life as he was in that moment. Finally, Azure's mind returned to the present, where he had pinned a demon to the ground with a sword at his throat. After a moment's careful consideration, Azure released his grip.

"…Fine, I’ll give you a chance." Azure reasoned as Jacob stood up. "I've never heard of a good demon, but I don't see any reason to kill you for it."

"Well… thanks." Jacob choked. "But Twilight is still missing! We need to get to Canterlot and warn Princess Celestia!" Jacob ran for the door, but Azure sighed,

"Celestia is missing too, as is Princess Luna." Jacob stumbled and nearly fell over in shock.

"What?" He choked. "They're all gone? Even Princess Cadence?"

"Nopony's checked The Crystal Empire yet," Azure said while examining the scuffmarks on the walls. "But I'm willing to bet Cadence is missing, too." Jacob fell back on his haunches and stared down at the floor, unwilling to believe what he was hearing.

“Did you see or hear anything suspicious?” Azure asked. “Any evil creatures or strange circumstances?” Jacob shook his head.

“No, I was in my room when I heard Twilight scream.” Jacob admitted. “I ran here as quick as I could, but by the time I got here she was gone.” Jacob sat on the floor as tears filled his eyes. “How could this have happened? And why?” He sobbed.

"I don't know, kid, but I'm going to find out." Azure said as he put his swords away. “My friends and I are looking for evidence, and frankly, we need all the help we can get.” He held out his hoof to Jacob. “Come on, let’s get back to Canterlot and see what we can find.”

“Thanks, but not right now.” Jacob sniffled. “Twilight wouldn’t want me to leave the castle unprotected.” Azure scowled.

“Listen kid, Twilight isn’t coming back on her own. We need to work together to find out-!”

“I’M STAYING.” Jacob growled, and for an instant his pearly white molars grew into razor sharp fangs. Azure was not intimidated, but he didn’t want to start another fight, knowing that his swords had no lasting effect on the demon.
“Fine, stay here and keep the castle safe.” Azure sighed, and handed the photo collage to Jacob. “But when the townsfolk march up to your door with torches and pitchforks, don’t come crying to me.”